Bronzebear Liquidation Sale
Posted by Aureth on Sun 29 Apr 2001 - 15:08
Bronzebear Media Distribution, one of the succesors to the old Mailbox Books (not the 'new' Mailbox Books at this website) is shutting down. The reasons listed are a variety, mostly relating to the proprietor wanting to concentrate on his education, and his annoyance at fandom politics.
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About the author
Aureth — read stories — contact (login required)an agronomist and Cornwuff from Northern Illinois, interested in sf, homebrewing, photography and running
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It makes me wonder if the furry market is headed in the right direction. When the old MBB was around it was the only source of furry products. When it died, Furlando, Bronzebear, and Rabco (now the new MBB) took over to repace it. Now Rabco is the new MBB, Furlando has been aquired by Rabco, and Bronzebear is shuting down. Now personaly I ordered from Bronzebear once, and would never do it again, however it makes me wonder if theres any competition at all now.
What a great many people fail to notice, I suspect, is that this fandom is so small there really isn't room for "competition." One name was universally recognized (Mailbox Books), and even with it being shut down and replaced with the 'new' Mailbox Books, it was still a known brand and as such continued to do the majority of the business. The competitors had to break into the market, and weren't able to establish brand loyalty or a sufficient reason to "move" from one material provider to the other (such as better prices, more selection, different selection/niche catered to, easier ordering, better service, etc etc). Due to that lacking, they closed their doors.
This almost results in a monopoly, but at the same time there was competition here for a brief while, and I think it was simply capitalism at work coupled with a (almost surprising, to me) lack of consumer awareness that put the competitors out of business. This may result in bad things for the customers in the future, should things go awry at Mailbox Books, but then maybe there will be a resurgence of competition in the future if that should happen. Who can tell at this point?
-Feren
-Feren
"We use them for divine retribution."
I really consider Mailbox Books more of a colleague than a competitor, as we've worked together in the past. Nevertheless, there is certainly room for more than one major retailer, even given the size of furry fandom in relation to other genres, like mainstream comic books. Folks who are interested in supporting additional distributors may want to swing by Alleycat Books, the best-kept secret in furry fandom for 2 years, now! www.alleycatbooks.com
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